Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia refugee camp northern Gaza Strip, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo

JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday that Israeli forces had encircled Jabaliya in northern Gaza ahead of an operation there to prevent Hamas from reestablishing itself there.

The army said that soldiers from the 162nd Division were redeployed to the Jabaliya area overnight Saturday after being stationed along the Philadelphi Corridor separating Gaza from Egypt’s Sinai.

Troops from the 401st and 460th brigades had encircled the area and were continuing to operate there on Sunday, according to the IDF. They were assisted by the Israeli Air Force before and during the ground operation, directed by the 215th Brigade. Among the targets hit were weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure, terrorist cells and additional military sites.

The terror group reported that during the operation 30 people were killed and 150 were injured.

“This operation to systematically dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area will continue as long as required in order to achieve its objectives,” the IDF said.

The 162nd Division last month defeated Hamas’s Rafah brigade after four months of targeted raids in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city near the border with Egypt.

Speaking with reporters on Sept. 12, 162nd Division commander Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen declared that “four battalions have been destroyed, and we have completed operational control over the entire urban area.”

However, intelligence showing a Hamas resurgence in Jabaliya prompted the 162nd Division to move north to the neighborhood.

IDF expands al-Mawasi humanitarian zone

The IDF on Sunday morning published a new evacuation map for the northern Gaza Strip, pointing noncombatants to an expanded humanitarian zone at al-Mawasi, which includes field hospitals, tent complexes, food, water, medicine and medical equipment.

As part of the effort to alert the residents of northern Gaza to get out of the active combat zone, the IDF dropped leaflets from the air and Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, tweeted in Arabic with accompanying maps.

“The terrorist Hamas continues its attempts to solidify its terrorist infrastructure in your area, exploiting civilians, shelters and medical facilities as human shields,” Adraee wrote, followed by evacuation details.

“I remind you that the northern Gaza Strip remains a dangerous combat zone,” Adraee warned.

Plans to turn northern Gaza into military zone

Kan News reported around a month ago that senior IDF officials were considering a plan to turn the northern Gaza Strip into a military zone.

Known as the “Island Plan,” it would see the IDF evacuate more than 200,000 Gazans from the northern part of the Strip, placing the area entirely under Israeli military control.

Sinwar wants wider war, not interested in a deal

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wants a wider regional war and is not interested in reaching a ceasefire deal, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing U.S. officials.

The article noted that Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre and who is believed to be hiding in Gaza’s vast tunnel network, has long believed that he won’t survive the war and has hardened his attitude in recent weeks.

Hamas holds 101 hostages, including 97 of the 251 kidnapped during the onslaught on the northwestern Negev nearly one year ago, in which 1,200 people were killed and thousands more wounded.

“Hamas has shown no desire at all to engage in talks in recent weeks, U.S. officials say. They suspect that Mr. Sinwar has grown more resigned as Israeli forces pursue him and talk about closing in on him,” according to the Times.

“A larger war that puts pressure on Israel and its military would, in Mr. Sinwar’s assessment, force them to scale back operations in Gaza, the U.S. officials said,” it continued.

However, despite the war widening to include an expanded conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and a direct engagement with Iran, the Gaza front remains active. American officials said that the failure of Hezbollah and Iran to damage Israel signals the miscalculation made by Sinwar.

The Times article noted that some Israeli officials have questioned whether Sinwar is still alive, with American and Israeli officials acknowledging that there has been no sign of him for months. However, in the absence of hard evidence of his death, U.S. officials believe he is still alive and in charge of Hamas.

Qataris say Sinwar ‘disappeared’

Channel 12 reported on Saturday that the Qatari officials involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas told the families of hostages in recent days that Sinwar has “disappeared.”

“Sinwar is currently not communicating with us. He has disappeared from us as well and has not made contact. He stopped using phones because of the assassinations, and now he communicates using paper and pen, which makes things very difficult,” the Qataris reportedly told the relatives.

The Qatari officials also told the family members that they believe Sinwar has surrounded himself with hostages and that despite his disappearance, there is no indication that Sinwar is dead.

The Qataris, who maintain close ties with Hamas, also claimed that Israel’s policy of assassinations makes reaching a deal more difficult.

“Israel’s assassination policy has worsened the deal. In the past, there was Haniyeh, and he was assassinated. Now there is Khaled Mashal, and he is much more difficult than Haniyeh,” they were quoted as saying. However, the families of the hostages say that these claims should be taken with caution due to Doha’s close relations with the terror group.

Sharon Sharabi, the brother of Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered in captivity and whose body is being held by Hamas, criticized the Qataris at the meeting, telling them that “the blood of our families is on your hands because you transferred the money to the terrorists, but you may also be the ones who can try to save the hostages.”